February 9, 2006
DIY Bus Routes
This is where public transportation can be interactive.
WJLA reported yesterday that WMATA's Budget Committee is looking to free up some $2.5 million, and to do so, they're gonna start shutting down some under-performing bus routes. Some of the folks over at WMATA have proposed getting rid of five weekday routes and five weekend routes while scrapping post-midnight runs on three-dozen other routes.
Are there any particular routes you would like to see done away with? More importantly, are there any you think need additional buses? And finally, given that WMATA is auctioning off some old buses, if you were to come across one, what route would you want to drive?
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I say cut bus lines that mirror the Metro. Otherwise, it's hard enough getting to some places in this city without a car already. Why make it tougher?
Bus lines that mirror the Metro reduce overcrowding; we need more of those, not less. Imagine what the Orange Line would be like without the 38B.
Get rid of the stupid "Adams Morgan Link" bus. It is always off schedule, and nobody rides it. It follows the same route as the 90 busses.
The Post pointed out that the per-rider subsidy for that bus is like $8.
Crazy waste of money!
I hate that DC treats buses like secondary citizens. I realize the powerful lawyers don't ride buses, but I rely entirely on them and/or my own two feet. I think the uptown/downtown buses should not be cut -- especially at night. Just last night, I was trying to catch the S's up 16th around 11:30 near the White House. I waited about a half hour (which is fine-- it is late)...but was shocked that a double-length bus was FULL and even stopped talking passengers on by U street. The time from 10-12 is when a lot of shift/wage laborers get off work downtown and they need reliable safe transportation back uptown or into SS/MD. I personally just got caught up watching project runway at a friends (life without cable is a bitch) and needed to get back up to Columbia/MtP. So, the point of this long story is --- metro shouldn't think about 8-8 lawyers when planning their public transit schedules. Think about real workers and their needs and hopefully the lines/schedules should reflect that.
How about rationalizing bus routes so that they go more or less in a straight line? DC is basically a gridded city, with some diagonal corridors. So why do the bus routes scramble all over the place? Look at WMATA's bus map. It's absolutely insane.
One bus that comes near me in Foggy Bottom, the 80, does all sorts of wackadoodle turns and loops. I would never get on it for fear of having no idea where it's going.
The same article mentions that they're considering longer off-peak trains. I'd advise them to run more frequent off-peak trains instead, 'cause if you don't have to wait 20 minutes for a transfer you're more likely to use the train.
As for the buses, I don't think I'd be sad if they rationalized routes and off-peak service but they shouldn't eliminate post-midnight runs. I've been on too many packed 52/54 buses to think that the 14th Street route needs any less service up to at least 1am. If those buses came reliably every 20 minutes (instead of 30-45) they'd still be full, I suspect.
I wish they'd add more busses to the 42 & S lines - they get really packed during the rush hours, and are still pretty full until midnight.
3 important and obvious changes.
1- 16th street is underserved by public transit, run MORE buses!
2- As someone stated, nothing goes straight despite a city layout that lends itself to simple, straight lines. It is currently confusing and still stuck on old trolley routes. Go back to the drawing board, but don't cut the number of buses, low frequency fuels people finding other transportation sources.
3- Do the K Street rapid bus thing, and do it right. Make sure that it IS fast.
DC really should make MetroBuses look less raggedy. The connector is an improvement...but in Amsterdam they have really cool looking buses that use durable but aesthetically decent plastics and metal. Make the bus look smart...then maybe people will start riding it.
I realize this is a small change...but just as beautifying a neighborhood and taking care of it helps prevent vandalism, cleaning the NYC subway of graffiti prevented larger crimes, and a clean and smut-free Times Square thanks to Giuliani generates millions for MTV, Disney, Toys R Us, etc. Maybe making DC's buses something that all of its citizens would be proud to ride could be a tipping point not only to minimizing traffic and commute times, but also reducing our dependency on quite so much foreign oil, helping the environment by cutting back on air pollution, and even mobilizing unifying more and more people from diverse neighborhoods and backgrounds. We should step up to ride the bus.
In Crash, Ludacris' character believes buses were first designed with big windows so everyone could see the humiliated, poor faces riding inside. I doubt that was truly the intention, as parts our country have a history of humiliation by forcing people to the back of--or off--the bus. But still, today it is clear that buses aren't even perceived as second class, falling as the last option for many after personal cars and subway systems. Yet with our cities becoming so crowded and traffic, commute, global warming, and parking so problematic, we must encourage more people to use public transportation for the common good, as well as their own convenience and benefit.
While it would certainly help to develop a system that doesn't die at night, and that provides smart routes to get people where they need to go at the right times, smaller touches on a small scale can still make a huge difference. I seriously wonder whether making the buses appear nicer over time, as old parts of the fleet are repaired or replaced, wouldn't make our whole city go round and round with that many more satisfied, well-served citizens.
(Malcolm Gladwell, author of _The_Tipping_Point_ and _Blink_, you reading?)
The Metro system is bleeding cash from the ears. Something has got to give and it makes little sense to run lines that are not paying for themselves. We all have issues with Metro buses, and no one will ever be happy until the bus picks up in front of our home, drops off in front of our job, never makes another stop; and does all that based around our schedule.
Short of that service, there are never going to be any real winners when it comes to Metro buses.
TC
fedward mentioned something I have long advocated for. (Ending sentences in a preposition. No wait. That's not it.)
Running more frequent but shorter trains off-peak. I would rather see six four-car trains than four six-car trains off-peak.
Next time you are in the Van Ness metro stop and waiting 12 minutes till the next train (happens most weekends) go check out the map. They list the "Sidewalk Friends School" and the Embassy of Chekoslovokia. Metro is so smart they know about places that no one else even knows exists!!!
error,
I noticed the "Sidewalk Friends School" in the Cleveland Park station over the weekend while being delayed by the single-tracking up in Bethesda.
I would echo the sentiment to look at the bigger picture of bus coverage and streamline the routes. There 'should' be cross-town buses and linear buses up the major thouroughfares, with the smaller "neighborhood" busses filling in the gaps.
I suspect that some of the 'ziggady' routes are so entrenched in neighborhood usage that they may be hard to alter.
Andrew
Take out every other stop. Some routes have a stop every 1-2 blocks, which makes the overall run time **slowww***. Make patrons walk 3-4 blocks and speed things up.
I don't see the class issue with the Metrobus. I understand it's the only option for a lot of poor people, but it's also the only option for a lot of well-to-do riders as well. I ride the D line every morning from Georgetown and it's pretty packed with the well-heeled.
Also, I really don't see a problem with the design of the buses. I think the newer ones (with the low floors) are perfectly fine. I imagine that the only aversion that people have is due to not having the right amount of money, or by being intimidated by the route.
To people that use the buses every day, the only problem is either infrequency of arrival (for instance, the D6 and D1 lines come only every 50 minutes or so after 7:00) or bunching of buses. Maybe other lines are not as well managed as the D line, but I'm relatively happy with it.
What about those shiny new tourist-enhanced Circulator buses that run the same route as the D6, but are always empty? I agree that the biggest problems are the always packed 16th Street buses at night and the Connecticut Ave. and 42 buses during evening rush hour. Let's take some of the Circulators and put them where they can be useful. Tourists are fine, but Metro's top priority regarding bus routes should be residents.
Jeff: That's a good idea too. The 90/92/93 buses have three stops on one block on Cathedral. There's one at 29th and Cathedral, Woodley and Cathedral and then one in between.
The circulator only overlaps D6 for about 7 blocks or so. The D6 goes from Sibley Hospital down MacArthur through upper-Georgetown, across Dumbarton Bridge, over to Dupont, then down to K, over to 13th, down to E over to Union station, and then on to RFK. The circulator goes from M in Georgetown to Penn to K all the way down to the Convention Center. They only overlap on K st., and only from 20th to 13th (and there are plenty of other bus lines that overlap right there).
Also, does Metro subsidize the Circulator? I thought it was privately run and supported.
Hey, I used that one in-between for the better part of 6 years to get to school, no joke!
In retrospect, it wouldn't be that big a deal to eliminate it. Course, I don't live there now either.
Andrew
They should make the bus maps more readily available. I wasn't able to even pick one up at metro center last weekend.
Why aren't the maps available at libraries, every metro station, bus shelter, 7-11 and check cashing place?
I ride the D6 almost daily to work and the X2 at night. The only issues I have on those is that after 8 am, the D6 gets a little unreliable on time. The X2 gets too crowded and somewhat rowdy...but it is pretty reliable. I also find that those routes are pretty direct...not much zig-zagging.
I think that the class issue is fading away...I think it is more of an intimidation thing that keeps people from riding the bus as often as the metro. If I didn't know the system, I surely would rather take a cab or metro (if I can) to where I am going than get on the wrong bus and end up in BFE, Maryland.
I think it would be great for the metro to run more lines at night. It would lessen the crowding (Red line on a Saturday night is pretty bad), and I totally agree with not running the connector bus from Adams Morgan to U Street...it is quicker to walk from the metro.
TC:
No, everyone is not complaining because it doesn't pick up in front of our house or come exactly on time. We are idiots. We are complaining when, during rush hours, 6 full buses and 20 minutes go by before you can get on a bus. We are complaining when at 1030 pm on a 30 degree night we wait 40 minutes for a double-length bus that is so full it can't even pick up any more people only half way through its route. Reasonable people expect to wait for buses awhile, or wait until a not-full bus comes. What we do expect is some logic to be applied to a discussion of bus routes when they already appear to be stressed.
I couldn't care less what my bus looks like as long as it takes me where I need to go, and I think any bus rider would say the same. Metro does NOT need to worry about how the buses appear aesthetically...they need to worry about them appearing at the stop on time!
The 30 buses up and down Wisconsin need to be addressed...good luck trying to find one running north between 5:15 and 6:15 pm, and if you find one, you'll find 4 bunched together, with people waiting 40 minutes. It's usually just as bad in the morning, which blows my mind because they only start up at Friendship Heights--how can they get so bunched so quickly?
hahaha! typo. we AREN'T idiots. though I show myself to be one.
The "zigzagging" is a combination of planning routes that will pick up passengers not within walking distance of a Metro stop and feed them to a stop (and vice versa) as well as the travel patters of people getting from their home to work. Routes that strictly follow the grid patter would be kind of silly and result in multiple unnecessary transfers.
We could use more S buses during non-peak times, but the problem with that line at rush hour is bunching.
I think Metro should start an express S route during rush hours, with stops at 16th & Spring (the Woodner), 16th & Columbia, 16th & U, and 16th & K. I'd bet that close to half of the rush-hour riders either get on or off at these stops already or would be willing to walk to one of them in exchange for a faster ride. The non-express buses could move more quickly because they'd have fewer riders.
And crack down on driver suckiness. On my way from the Brookland/CUA Metro station to Washington Hospital Center today, the bus wasn't more than a block outside the station when the driver pulled over to talk on his cell phone. I think it was a call from his travel agent or maybe a friend helping him book his vacation to the Virgin Islands. Nevermind the bus was already running a few minutes behind schedule.
I don't understand why Metro doesn't just partner with area universities to "sell" (aka include in already mysterious student fees) every student a year-long metro/bus pass. Yeah, yeah, they don't exist -- yet -- but wouldn't this be a great way to increase revenue and decrease the number of 19 year old douchebags from New Jersey driving gigantic SUVs on D.C.'s already clogged streets?
M,
Every discussion of Metro bus routes tends to spiral into the abyss of personal wants and needs. I was just taking the conversation to the ultimate conclusion faster than usual.
As a bus rider from suburbia the 12 buses do a good job of getting me to the end of the Orange line and back reasonably on time, with a minimum of overcrowding. So, I don't have the complaints that tend to fill these types of threads.
I do tend to agree with Metro that underperforming routes should be eliminated, even if there is vocal opposition to it. If the need for late night routes is as bad as this discussion is claiming, then Metro needs to change the schedules to reflect that. It used to be a problem on the 12 route, so Metro officials shortened the time between pick ups by increasing the number of buses on the route. In the process creating a more profitable route. It seems that type of logic shuold be applied system-wide.
As for the condition of the buses, I doubt that many people factor that into their decision matrix for transportation. If the bus is clean, not too smelly, and arrives/departs on time; most riders are more than satisfied. Additional creature comforts would be nice, but not change many people's mind about riding the bus.
Straight line routes (or as Andrew proposed, 'main routes with sub-routes') look simple enough on paper, but I doubt that moving the bulk of the routes in that direction would improve the system noticably. The routes can be/are confusing to new riders; so that is something that should be addressed at some point in the process. Matt is right in the fact that the "zigzagging" is a planned way of accomodating the most riders, at the most logical stops. All based on past traffic patterns. I have a feeling that Andrew's idea would only create more super-buses that are over full and more empty buses running on the sub-routes.
Boy, that ran longer than I intended it to. Sorry. Somebody should really cut me off sooner in the future.
TC
You will recall that in the WP expose on metrobus, they had like 1/4 the number of workers needed to have any clue about what routes get busy, and when. Given that they can't even count riders accurately, I worry that the route reduction will be done inefficiently, and with a maximum of inconvenience to users.
Just to clarify my comment on the condition of the buses...i'm not saying it's worthwhile to do anything to buses that are currently running. However, I really think that part of the Connector's success is how eye-catching and pomo it is with the bright LED signs, cool swoopy route designs on the sides, nice dark red color, less blocky looking shape, etc. On the other hand, Metrobuses look industrial and outdated.
Getting a few nice-looking (but no more luxurious or anyting) Metrobuses would call new attention to their ability to provide transportation (a lot of people, myself included, don't consider Metrobuses because they've always sucked). I'm not saying these would be the most important changes...but rather than marketing stupidly (dorkers!), a packaging change would probably do more than most people would imagine to start a whole PR/culture change around Metro. If nothing else, riding will be more enjoyable...and the more people are on the bus, the fewer drivers there will be creating traffic to slow the buses down.
But seriously, bus riding carries a stigma beyond the practical issues such as clustering and traffic delays. Rather than buses with bulletholes, why not some transluscent blue plastic. It didn't make the iMac any more stable, but it did help to change hearts and minds. The Tipping Point - http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316346624/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-8938031-5083848#reader-link
Has the Connector actually been successful? Are there any reports available yet regarding ridership?
Also, no more Gladwell plugs, please. Thx.
Come on, sqdc. Reading doesn't hurt so bad!
I ride the Connector on K Street between 14th and 21st every day at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. It is almost always on time (5-10 minute wait - only once did I wait 20 minutes), and it is always full. (Probably because of rush hour commuters, obviously.)
Reading IS great. But I guarantee you that 99% of this site's readers are well aware of that particular best-seller. No need to contribute to the overexposure.
It sucks that Metro proposes ending all 90, 92, and 93 buses at Ellington Bridge, and extending the 96 to Mclean Gardens. A lot of people use those buses to get to Adams Morgan and U Street in the evenings.